It was the last day of a self funded trip to Sri Lanka in 2005, and my
friend Morag and I were feeding the strays near our hotel before flying back
to the UK. Suddenly a gangly flea ridden dog staggered towards us collapsing
at our feet. We had never seen him before, but knew we had to get him to the
vets quickly. The dog had been badly beaten by locals and his front legs
appeared broken. Part of his paw was also severed. The dog sensed we were
his last hope and as we rushed him to the vets we decided to call him Sid.

As well as his injuries, Sid was infected with Dirofilaria Repens, a serious
disease in dogs which is transmitted by mosquitoes. He was emaciated,
dehydrated and covered in ticks and mange mites. In view of his neglected
state, the vets were cynical about Sid's chances of survival. But we decided
to give him a chance of life and paid to keep him there for as long as it
would take to make him well again.

We had little time before our flight home, but before leaving managed to
give Sid his first ever bath, gently removed the ticks from his ears and fed
him a hearty meal and some fresh water.

We gave him a final hug as we left and Sid howled pitifully. He broke our
hearts and we never thought we would see him again.

But this courageous dog pulled through and we decided to bring him back to
the UK. It was an emotional journey, but Sid's battle for life was not yet
over. During the first month of his quarantine he started passing blood from
his genitals. He had a large Transmissible Venereal Tumour (TVT) missed by
the Sri Lankan vets. The quarantine vet refused to administer the
chemotherapy (Vincristine) to cure him and tried to persuade me to have Sid
put to sleep. But I refused because I knew about this disease from my work
in Sri Lanka, and the treatment is highly effective. After some harrowing
weeks, my own vet agreed to help Sid and fortunately his premises met with
DEFRA's approval. Animals in quarantine are strictly regulated and any
movement outside the quarantine premises has to be authorised by DEFRA. The
veterinary costs for the chemotherapy and transport to the vets were huge
and this was in addition to the hefty quarantine costs, all funded from our
wages. Sid was also found to have a tick borne disease -Ehrlichiosis, which
had also been missed by vets in Sri Lanka. But, despite everything life had
thrown at him, this brave boy sailed through all his treatments and is now
healthy, although he remains disabled due to leg injuries.

Kim and Sid

Sid and Kim are devoted to one other

Sid is devoted to his rescuer Kim Cooling
and lives with her in London.

For Sid, the misery and torment he suffered as a stray in Sri Lanka is now a
distant memory.

Sid in London
From death's door to safety
now living with Kim Cooling

_____

Sid in London
Every stray dog just wants to be loved.
For Sid this dream came true .......